


Never lose your head

by Wibbili_Wobbly



Series: THE STRANGER FROM GALLIFREY [4]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate History, France (Country), Gen, Historical Inaccuracy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:06:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25221358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wibbili_Wobbly/pseuds/Wibbili_Wobbly
Summary: Did you know that a cockroach can live up to two weeks withoud its head? And Marie Antoinette managed to live a whole life. How's that? Don't ask me how!
Series: THE STRANGER FROM GALLIFREY [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1686751





	Never lose your head

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Беды с башкой](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25221142) by [Wibbili_Wobbly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wibbili_Wobbly/pseuds/Wibbili_Wobbly). 



The Doctor was delving into the TARDIS trying to fix all the problems after another adventure. Rose was watching him and sitting aside. She was bored. Finally, the Time Lord finished his work and was going to start another long story about distant planets. But suddenly he stopped without uttering a word.

'Doctor?' Rose looked at him carefully, 'You were going to say something, weren't you? You have been silent for more than five seconds by now. And this is always bad'

The Doctor raised his finger significantly and pulled the psychic paper out of his pocket. There was a message on it.

'This is an invitation. ...To Marie Antoinette's ball?' summed up the Doctor, having glanced through the letter, 'There are two dates. Both long time before the Great Revolution. But there's one thing...', the Time Lord stopped thoughtfully, 'The message was delivered to the psychic paper and straight to my mind. But I've never met the last queen of France before. She couldn't have contacted me that way'

'You think there's something wrong about that?'

'Definitely', the Doctor clung to the console and pulled the lever, 'Allons-y!'

***

'Oi, why did you take us straight to the last day of the event? We've missed everything!'

'Rose, we have a time machine. At any moment we can just...' the Doctor didn't finish. He heard screams and roaring outside the TARDIS.

The Time Lord cautiously leaned out the door. Outside he saw something terrible: raging masses, pogrom and bloodshed. The Doctor would never go to these times of his own free will. But he knew for sure that it was far too early for the Revolution.

The crowd angrily rushed to the royal palace predicting death for the ruling elite. There was a great lot of people. All armed with something and with burning hate came to overthrow their queen.

The Doctor cautiously stepped closer to the crowd and turned to some peasant.

'Yeah, wow, getting rid of the monarchy and the rest. But what exactly are we so insistently rebelling against?'

'Ah, ya're a fool, aren't ya? This is a real protest against the voluntarism of the aristocracy!'

'Wow, how long has it been going on?'

'About a day. Ya know, many bourgeois have already been chopped up! And soon that powdered doll on the throne will get under the knife. Off with her head!'

The Doctor went back to Rose. He didn't understand a thing. The whole revolution cannot happen just in one day. What about the convocation of the General States, the capture of the Bastille, the Varenna crisis, the six-month siege of the Palace of Versailles at last?

'Do you think the queen has invited us to witness her death?'

'Unlikely. This is the last thing anyone would think of. C'mon, there is something we need to check'

***

The TARDIS landed at the same exact place 24 hours ago.

Gardens, fountains and a magnificent palace. And not a sound. Nothing foreshadowed those terrible events of the oncoming day. Suspiciously calm.   
The Doctor went out and looked around in complete misunderstanding. Rose was surprised no less than him.

'Maybe, you've messed up something again'

'Can't be! The date, the time, the place, the planet', the Doctor sniffed the air, then touched the ground, 'There's no mistake. But that cannot be like that. Like today everything is peaceful and quiet and then tomorrow - kaboom! - they execute the queen?'

'That means something is very wrong...' Rose smiled.

'How lucky we are to have a personal invitation to the royal palace', the Time Lord took out his psychic paper.

Both, full of excitement, headed for the posh Versailles palace built in the pompous Baroque style and surrounded by a vast park with many fountains.   
The travellers quickly passed the guards — the psychic paper opens all the doors. Well, at least the front door of the palace.

The two were walking through spacious halls with high ceilings and sophisticated furniture. Rose was enthusiastically examining all this luxury while the Doctor was looking into the face of every wall portrait.

Suddenly the Time Lord stopped and listened.

'I can hear music'

'Oh, please, not again...' the girl rolled her eyes, 'No, wait a minute, that's right. I can hear it too'

The Doctor put his finger on lips and frowned trying to catch the melody that was coming from behind the doors.

'The court orchestra is a common thing for the 18th century. But... Why are they playing John Lennon's "Hey Jude"?'

He went to the large door and the guards confronted him.

'Her Majesty does not want to receive any visitors'

The Time Lord showed the invitation:

'Her Majesty deigned herself to see me and my companion'

The travellers entered the throne room. The queen was busy indeed. She was rummaging in the variety of sweets served for her on elegant trays.

'Leave now. I do not receive any guests. People are not letters to receive them' the lady said, not even bothering to chew on a cupcake and turn to her visitors.

'Nice music', noted the Doctor, 'Lennon? Good choice. Pity, it's still almost two centuries before he writes this one', the Time Lord stopped at the throne of Marie Antoinette, who was still not looking at him.

'Doctor?' she said in surprise unmistakably recognising his voice.

***

Marie Antoinette froze for a moment, having forgotten about a bitten cupcake. The Queen slowly turned to the Doctor, smiled contentedly and said in pure French:

_'Ne me demandez pas comment!'_

It was the Stranger. With no doubt it was her. Even under that layer of powder, wearing a magnificent wig and a celestial blue dress with an immense skirt, it was her. Her cosmic eyes looked at the Doctor and Rose. The Time Lady was incredibly pleased with herself.

'What? Wait, but how did you?.. How did you end up like this?'

'I've told you already: don't ask me how!'

'Wait, why didn't the TARDIS translate your French phrase into English?' Rose asked.

'I know how to do such a trick. She doesn't translate the Doctor's "Allons-y!" as well'

The Doctor, completely bewildered, was about to blur out all at once about the upcoming revolution but he got interrupted.

'Oh, and I have a royal ball today! Let's go, you're just in time. Ah, wait, Blondie! You look like a homeless again!' the Stranger frowned and clapped her hands. Two maids rushed into the room, 'Go on, prepare her for the ball. Do your best. Chop-chop!'

The maids quickly whispering something took Rose away. The Doctor gathered his thoughts. He frowned and turned to the Time Lady.

'Stranger, look. Tomorrow...'

'That's great you've come!' she interrupted, 'Though, I didn't invite you. Well, you sort of found me yourself'

'Wait, didn't invite?' asked the Doctor, 'But I received a message on the psychic paper'

'Oops...' she raised her eyebrows slightly nervously, 'Would be awkward if the real Marie Antoinette decided to show up', she took the paper from the Doctor's hands, 'Ah, no, that's all right. It's my handwriting. But I don't remember writing this. ..Well, okay, never mind. Today we are dancing! Come, Doctor', she playfully pulled his hand, 'When else will you have a chance to dance with the Queen of France herself? No, don't answer — you'll spoil everything again'

Extraterrestrial Marie Antoinette opened the doors to a huge hall where the music sounded and the ball was in full swing.

'Allons-y!' she cried joyfully to the Doctor.

'Hey', he was about to protest.

'Oi, remind me: which one of us is the queen of France, eh? Okay, let's go', she dragged the Time Lord forward.

***

'Well, actually I came here by chance. I was going to have some crêpes. ...And to unravel the mystery of the famous Count of Saint-Germain. I thought he could easily occur to be you. But mainly, of course, because of the crêpes. And then my boat stalled. I mean, literally. So I had to improvise. I even learnt the language for such an occasion'

'Stranger! Shut up already, will you?'

'Oi! How dare you talk in this way to the elders! Go talk to your blondie like that'

The girl frowned. Arguing was never a part of her plans. She was just going to have a good time and forget all her troubles and worries.

But the Doctor demanded to concentrate, though she couldn't understand why. The Time Lord, unlike Marie Antoinette, knew what was going to happen the next day. He had seen the flames, the furious people thirsting for the blood of their queen. The Stranger, because of her ignorance of the future, was probably the happiest creature on the planet.

'Oh, come on, Doctor', she said plaintively. The orchestra started another Beatles' hit, 'Just one dance. And after that, we'll surely discuss anything you want'

'Oh, well. That goes'

They were spinning through the, swiftly moving, changing partners but invariably returning to each other. Just like they do in life. It's not to say that either of them didn't like it. For their short meetings, they would always manage to exchange sincere smiles, the latest news and a couple of jokes. What else to desire?

The music died down, the dance was over. The Time Lords were standing in front of each other, trying to catch their breath. A hand on waist. A hand on shoulder. Eyes to eyes. And the buzz around.

'Thank you for the dance, gentleman in sneakers'

The Doctor smiled. He glanced away and saw his companion. She was wearing a beautiful pastel pink dress, and the flowers were woven into her neatly done hair. The girl noted the Time Lords and went towards them.  
The Doctor was looking admiring at her.

'You look incredible!'

'Thanks', Rose giggled.

'Yup, Blondie, ya look nice. So, Doctor, what did you want to talk about?'

The Stranger looked expectantly at him but he didn't pay any attention. He was completely passionate about Rose. The Time Lady made a grimace of disgust, though it wasn't noticed.

A new melody began. The Doctor invited Rose to dance. The Stranger was going to shout something nasty to them but then realized that she wouldn't even be heard. They wouldn't want to hear her. And she already had nothing to add.

She was standing alone in the middle of the room, surrounded by dancing couples. Marie Antoinette has the power to stop everything immediately and execute every single one but she didn't want to. She now wanted only one thing. The biggest piece of cake.

Having got out of this joyful whirl of the waltz, she gracefully went to a table, although she no longer had neither strength nor desire to hold her back straight.

The Stranger put her hand on a cherry cupcake that was lying on a tray. But someone else did exactly the same.

'Hey! Watch out! Doncha touch ma cupcake!' the voice said.

'Oi! Hands of ma cupcake, ya!' replied the Time Lady.

She looked up. Her opponent did the same. Both froze in silent astonishment.

'Stranger?'

'Oh, damn, Casanova! It's you who I was missing. Whatta hell are ya doing here??' the Stranger frowned pulling the tray of sweets towards herself.

'Well, actually I came here with the name of Saint-Germain. But that's right, it's still me. Initially, I came here for Marie Antoinette'

'Whaaaat?'

'Okay, I admit, you've spoiled my plans a bit', he said snatching a cake from her hands, 'I never thought the queen of France would also turn out to be me. Although, you know, a quick romance with oneself is not considered as a perversion, right?' he winked, leaning on the table.

'Do you have an idea why girls in 18th century need such wide skirts? So that such pervs like you couldn't get closer than two metres!'

'Okay, right, that was just a joke. A stupid joke'

'Joke like that again — and I will call the guards. Get outta here!'

'Well, right then...' Casanova muttered offendedly, 'We were just having a nice conversation...'

'Because of your "nice conversations" half of the Universe is already populated by your offsprings. Get off and don't spoil MY ball!' the Stranger stamped her foot.

Time Lord snorted and smugly headed off, taking a tray of sweets with himself.

'Well then, stand here alone while the Doctor is having fun with someone else. At least something in this life never changes'

As soon as the Casanova left, the Stranger felt very lonely. 'So that means even I don't need myself anymore?' she thought.

The room was full of people. All of them were happy, or at least skillfully pretending to be. The Stranger didn't have the strength for either of this. The crowded room provoked a feeling of emptiness.

Marie Antoinette took the last remaining biscuit from the table.

'That's a pity peasants cannot eat cakes instead of bread'

***

The ball had been going for a long time. It was already getting dark outside. The Stranger was still standing alone. During that time she managed to taste some disgustingly sour wine, which didn't bring her any joy at all. It a pity that they don't serve beer in the royal palace.

Rose and the Doctor suddenly distracted the Time Lady from her thoughts. They, already tired, exchanging glances approached to the Stranger.

'Stay overnight. I can provide you with a room. Maybe two, but I'm sure, for you — one will be enough', the Stranger replied.

'We need to talk. There is something to be discussed. In private', said the Doctor, 'Rose, would you mind staying here for now, please?'

Rose nodded and went to the table. The Time Lady suddenly cheered up noticeably. As if the day hadn't gone to waste. As if nothing in this life was lost.

The Doctor and the Stranger went to a balcony. The spacious and completely empty balcony was lighted with the last reddish rays of sunset. The Doctor silently leaned on the railing and gazed heavily somewhere to the far. The Stranger was looking at him.

'There will be a revolution tomorrow. The Great Revolution', said the Time Lord, 'Yes, I know, it's not the time at all. But for some reason it is. I've seen it myself. Already tomorrow in the afternoon people will seize the palace. You will be taken to the scaffold', he finally turned his head to her.

The Stranger was carefully thinking over every single word. A slight smile slowly vanished from her face and her hands fell hanging as if she was a doll. With glass eyes, she stared into the void and turned pale.

'But how's that?. It can't be...'

'You called yourself Marie Antoinette. You should've known that sooner or later it would end up like this'

'But I'm not ready! I thought I would have some time to sneak away'

'Now you're the part of historic events. I'm sorry but... You have to die'

The Stranger covered her face with her hands.

'I understand, it is scary indeed. And I can help you anyhow. But we are the Time Lords. We regenerate', the Doctor touched her shoulder, 'You're lucky not to be the real queen. In a blink, you'll have a new body, a new philosophy. And everything will be fine again'

The Stranger got out of her stupor and giggled nervously.

'Oh, right. I regenerate. Yup. Jolly good'

'Something's wrong?'

'No-no, everything is awesome. Yes. Tickety-boo! Right. The revolution. I regenerate. Pew! Right.

The Stranger returned to the hall and claimed to have long wanted to sleep. She ordered servants to prepare the rooms for Doctor and Rose. All the dancing guests dispersed. The ball on the eve of the execution was over.

***

It was already dark outside and the whole palace fell asleep. Only in the royal chamber, a dim light flickered from a couple of candles.

The Stranger was nervously pacing the room back and forth and muttering something. Her thoughts were confused and hard to catch. The Time Lady bit her lip and plopped down the big royal bed with a heavy sigh.

'Stranger! Stra-a-a-anger!' she heard a muffled call from the street.

'Ugh, who the fu...' without finishing the phrase she armed herself with a candelabra and went out to the balcony.

'Stra-a-a-ange-e-er!'

She looked down and saw a familiar figure.

'Ah, here you are again', the Stranger said softly, 'Just look at you: your whole life passes under the balconies at ladies' chambers'

'Well, why only under the balconies? Sometimes even in the chambers themselves', the Casanova proudly remarked and as usual climbed ivy onto the balcony.

The man suddenly stopped in indecision. He leaned against the railing and looked at the Stranger with some unknown aching sorrow.   
Never before had the Time Lady seen the Casanova that serious and saddened. From his look, the Stranger felt tingles down her spine. And the impending execution never got out of her head. After all, everything was not as smooth as the Doctor planned.

'I'm scared', whispered the Stranger as she exhaled.

'I understand', Casanova came closer and embraced her. Not like he would hug random girls. Now it was something warm, own and completely human'

'The Doctor said I just have to regenerate and move on', she squeaked through the tears that came up.

'...But you can't', Casanova continued her thought, 'I have one last life left. And she is now standing in front of me. That means you don't have any. Nothing to regenerate into.'

'Ah, as usual — no one pities you better than yourself', she leaned against the man's chest trying to hear the nervous rhythm of two hearts, which seemed to be beating off the word "sorry" in Morse code.

No one knows how long they had been standing like that. But it was clearly necessary. When the sobs subsided and breathing became calmer, the Casanova said:

'And you didn't tell the Doctor, did you?'

'How did you understand?' the Stranger asked in a weak voice, without even opening her eyes.

'No one in the world knows you better than you do'

'I was feeling ashamed. That I've spent all my lives searching for him. I just...' her voice faltered, 'I just don't want him to look at me with disappointment after all those centuries'

The Casanova sighed. He hardly remembered the endless search for the Doctor but these words wavered through his two hearts. The Doctor meant really a lot to the Stranger.

The Time Lady took a couple of deep breaths, stepped away from the Casanova and looked into his eyes.

'Answer me only one question. I can't leave without finding out the truth', she frowned a little, 'Why did you erase your memory then? There are almost no memories of several lives. As my earlier incarnation, you should remember at least something. What for? The first thing you did as soon as you appeared was that you erased the memory. Why?' the Stranger was eagerly looking into his eyes.

'I... I don't remember. But the one thing I remember for sure: under no circumstances should you know this. Whatever happens, don't even try to find those memories. I put them on a flash drive and threw away into the endless open space. You will never find them'

***

The Stranger was staring at the floor with her tearful eyes.

'You know', the Casanova began, 'I heard that cockroaches can live without their heads for up to two weeks'

'What? What do you think I'm a damn cockroach??'

'Oh, I'm just saying the situation is difficult but you shouldn't lose your head. ..Damn, I just wanted to help', the man backed away while the Stranger armed with candelabra was slowly approaching him.

'Well, it's you who need help right now!'

'Oh, what are you!' he squeezed into the railing trying to climb on it during his retreat, 'Come on, just don't take it into your head!'

The Stranger pushed the Casanova with all her strength. He lost his balance and fell down from the balcony right into the bushes.

'Get outta here!' she cried out.

'You dunce!' the Casanova groaned offended, getting on his feet, 'And all your past incarnations suck! ... Ah, wait a second, hmmm', he thought a bit, 'Ugh, the hell with ya!'

The Time Lady returned to the room and leaned against the wall. She was feeling hungry after all those nerves.   
The Stranger took the candlestick and quietly, so as not to catch the eye of the servants, went in search of a night snack.

The Time Lady stomped her bare feet on the cold floor of empty corridors, holding a weighty candelabra in her had. A slight tremor shook her and the hearts began to beat faster. Suddenly she hears a slight rustling and a quiet familiar "Stranger" right behind her. The girl turned around. The Doctor was standing very close.

'Stranger', he said still almost inaudible.

'Why are you yelling here?! The Noise Lord!' she hissed at him loudly.

The Doctor flinched. The girl fell silent. For half a minute they were standing and looking at each other without a word.

'So... Why are you wandering the corridors at night?' he finally asked.

The Stranger hesitated. She was terribly ashamed to admit to the eternal saviour of the universe that she simply goes to seize fear and despair with another cupcake.

'I am... Humm.. Walking the candlestick', the girl mumbled not looking into his eyes, '..And you?'

'I am... Walking myself', he smiled nervously.

Each of them wanted to express hundreds of thoughts and ask thousands of questions. But instead, both of them were simply standing in silence in the middle of the palace.

'I need to escape somehow', the Stranger whispered, 'My boat is dead. I need the TARDIS', she looked at the Doctor. He only frowned.

'I'm sorry. This is a fixed point in time. If you run away an important historical event will never happen. It will tear the matter of time, and the flows of time...'

'I don't care about the flows of time'

'I understand, you're frightened. I am myself scared to regenerate. But disrupting the passage of time will collapse the entire universe. Sorry, but we are facing the choice: you or the universe.

The Stranger stared at the floor. She understood all this and almost accepted. She needed next to nothing last tiny bit of support. She now only wanted a simple hug from the one she had been searching for several lives in a row.

'I have to ask the Casanova for his TARDIS', the Stranger muttered, 'Damn, I've just thrown him from the balcony'

'Stranger!' the Doctor's heavy voice echoed through the empty corridors, distracted the Time Lady from her thoughts and made her look at him again.

His eyes were tearful and angry. He looked stern. Another time the Stranger would certainly have noticed that this severeness was concealing his helplessness and desperation.

'Come round already! You CAN NOT run away', the Doctor had already forgotten that they had to keep silence, 'Whether you like it or not — there's no other choice. Tomorrow is your execution. You are regenerating. This is no longer discussed. I personally gonna make sure that this happens. So stop this useless pathetic sobbing'

The Stranger looked at him with frightened eyes. She was ready to make a teary grimace. What she was so afraid of was on her last night to see the Doctor's disappointment and contempt for her weakness.

The Time Lady quickly came back to her room. The Doctor glanced at her with a sad look. He was gasping the air to say something to her but the words simply didn't get out of his mouth.   
He stood for so long even when the image of the girl has long disappeared.

He will never know about the tear that swept the Stranger's cheek while she was walking away.   
And she will never know that the Doctor couldn't sleep a wink that night.

***

The Stranger sneaked into her room and slammed the door. She laid on the cold floor hugging her knees.   
Suddenly, her gaze stopped on the sheets of paper lying on the desk.   
A pen, an inkwell, a dim light. The Stranger started writing.

> _"My dear Doctor!_
> 
> _On behalf of Marie Antoinette, I invite you to our first and last ball. I am writing to you the night before my own execution. I know there's no way to avoid it. And so I'm begging you about the only thing: brighten up my last hours._
> 
> _I was looking for you, Doctor. Almost all of my lives. You seem to have been my first and the only true friend. Remember how we used to lounge together on the red grass watching the sunset of the three Gallifrey suns? You couldn't have forgotten._
> 
> _You opened the whole world to me and taught to waste time. You said that as we were the Time Lords, we shouldn't be afraid of it. Remember how you encouraged me to steal the TARDIS? Remember when you saw me after my first regeneration? You ran away because you were confused and embarrassed and didn't know what to say. And then you came back and called me old._
> 
> _And I recall how you told me to escape from Gallifrey before you destroy our home planet. Have you forgotten the way you looked into my eyes and promised that everything would be fine? Don't you remember how you swore to find me whatever it takes?_
> 
> _But you didn't. Perhaps, you didn't even try to. And I stayed abandoned in an endlessly huge universe where there is no place for a lonely stranger. But I went on keeping the only name in both my hearts. Your name._
> 
> _Centuries later, having lost a dozen of lives and gone completely insane, I finally find you. Just to discover that I have long been replaced. I know that I will hate every your companion. But I'm glad for each of them. They found you. They did what I failed to do._
> 
> _Please, come to the ball. Let me see you one last time. Let me at least dream of that you've finally found me._
> 
> _Don't tell anything about the revolution. Just give me a dance. Give me one evening.  
>  You are the most important in my life, Doctor."_

The Stranger finished her message, stared at the text and then added: _"What a pity you never gonna read this"_

The girl looked at the candle flame and ignited the letter. The sheet of paper slowly turned to ash.   
Small candlelight was reflecting in the tired Stranger's eyes.

She laid down her pen and concentrated. At this moment, somewhere in the recent past, in the vast expanses of space, the Doctor received a message on psychic paper. These were ornate, but completely soulless palace stamps and clichés.

***

The next morning could hardly ever be called a good morning. Mass pogroms from the very dawn swept the capital. The people, aggressively shouting something, were gathering in the palace square.

The Doctor couldn't understand a thing. He knew how impossible this whole story was. After all, not a single revolution can be accomplished in one day. This is absurd, a time paradox that has appeared here unexpectedly with not an evident reason.

The Stranger didn't feel like plunging into philosophical speculations. She was standing in the corner hugging herself and staring with empty eyes into nowhere. Now and then she would shake from every noise behind the window. Over the past night, the Time Lady almost managed to get used to the thought of her own death. But, nevertheless, she still didn't want to accept this.

Suddenly the door to the hall sweep opened with a loud sound that made the Stranger jerk in fright. It was the Casanova who came in. No one generally could understand how he managed to get into the building.

'Hello, my friends!' his voice sounded more mature than usual. And the look in his eyes this time seemed much older.

He was wearing a new shirt but which was more important — dark boots. Not any other incarnation of the Stranger has ever let oneself wear shoes.

It seemed that the girl herself was shocked no less than the rest.

'Oh, look, you've stepped into a kind of muck', she commented on his new outfit, resolutely being against of any kind of boots.

The Casanova condescendingly said nothing. Instead of getting deathly offended, as it would have been before, he gave a kind and tender smile. The man abruptly embraced the Stranger as if he hadn't seen her for hundreds of years and had been missing her insanely.

'Oh, I gave you a hard hit from the balcony yesterday', the Time Lady shook herself as she got free, 'You've changed that much in just one night'

'In one night?..' the Casanova repeated, 'Ah, yes... Well, there are lots of things you can do in one night. Like straying the parallel universe or even finding the love of your whole life'

'I have no time for philosophy. Have you driven back our TARDIS for me to escape?'

'Well, there's a tiny snag...' the man giggled nervously, 'I've lost her during the last trip with my companion'

'A companion? You don't have any! Oh, look at you, I guess you were just showing the cosmic space to your whores again! You've just doomed me. ..Both of us! And you have a cheek to come here wearing shoes!' the Stranger covered her face with her palms.

A stone from outside interrupted her tirade having broken a large window.

'I should've said earlier', the Casanova took the Stranger by the hand, 'I've got a plan. They want your execution — they'll get it'

'Yeah, great plan, how could I not have come up with it myself', muttered the Stranger.

'No, wait, you didn't get it. Come on, I shall explain it', he dragged the girl to the door of a chamber.

'Ah, I wouldn't like to have myself locked up alone with you'

'Oh, come on, what are you talking about? I'm a married man'

'Whaaaaaat?? When did you manage to get married? And why the hell I don't remember anything? You are my past, damn you!'

The Strangers hid behind the door leaving the Doctor and Rose to stand in the middle of the hall with absolutely no understanding.

***

A few minutes later at the doors of the chamber, the Stranger appeared. In a blood-scarlet velvet royal dress. She smiled slyly and looked quite smug.

'Well, nothing else to say: Casanova is a genius indeed. It's high time we all admitted it', she said in a slightly unusual tone of voice. The queen of France walked across the hall, gracefully holding her back straight. Because of her suddenly elegant step, her lush skirts would rock slightly from side to side with a weak rustle, **_'She keeps her Moet et Chandon In her pretty cabinet. "Let them eat cake", she says Just like Marie Antoinette...'_** , she was humming playfully.

'Oh, right, so, I feel a trick', the Doctor said, 'Rose, can you feel the trick?'

'Ah, yes, definitely the trick', the blonde nodded.

'Just a simple fraud, a bit of self-sacrifice and a perception filter — that's my plan', explained the lady, 'Nice, innit?'

It was the Casanova, who now looked exactly like Marie Antoinette. But only these four knew about it.

'An old trick with the perception filter that changes appearance', the real Stranger peered out from behind the door, 'Of course, it also has certain drawbacks but... I don't think anyone would pay much attention if the last queen of France casts a male shadow on the scaffold'

The Doctor took the Stranger aside.

'So, the Casanova is now coming instead of you, right?'

'Yup. I am saved, the flows of time are maximally preserved. He assured me it was the right thing to do'

'Was he always like that?' the Doctor looked at the Casanova, who was spinning in front of the mirror admiring his new image, 'Well, I mean, conscious. Able to sacrifice oneself?'

'I dunno', the Stranger shrugged, 'Now it seems to me that I don't know him at all', she turned around. The yells of people were growing louder, 'I have to drive away my boat. Otherwise, they will find it. We never know what they'll do to it. This technology can't be left'

'But it died out', the Doctor objected.   
The Stranger nodded gravely.

Meanwhile, Rose came to the Casanova and looked sadly at him. She didn't know him for long and all this time he seemed to be a strange and absurd idiot. But does that mean that he now less than the Stranger deserves a life?

'You look calm and confident. Aren't you scared?' the blonde asked carefully.

'I've already made my decision. You know, regeneration is like death. The only difference is that we can do it several times. I will have to do it anyway. One day, ingloriously, pointless, pathetic, alone. But this is a great honour to leave not just to waste, but to give your life to someone else. So I'll do it', he took Rose aside, away from the Stranger and furtively got a vortex-manipulator out of a secret pocket, 'Look, I have this thing. Technically, at any time I could just not give a damn about everything and even without a TARDIS just run away, as I usually do. But what's the point? Leaving her alone and knowing that whatever I do and whatever road I take, I will still end up here. And that time there will be no one to save me. Because I have abandoned her here'

***

Rumble and threats we're already heard in the halls of the palace. They were echoing all over the place. It was high time to run.

'There is a secret exit here', the Stranger dragged the Doctor and Rose with her. She pressed the panel in the wall and it moved aside. A dark passage opened.

The Doctor grabbed blonde and rushed there. The Stranger was lingering. She turned at the Casanova and gave him a grateful gaze.

'By the way, you look pretty', she winked.

'Getting used to it', he answered with a smile.

The Stranger hid in the darkness and the door slab closed.   
The Casanova proudly opened the doors of the hall and went towards the rebels.

'Hi, boys! You're so late. It's impolite to make a lady wait for you', Marie Antoinette appeared to the glare of the crowd in a blood-red dress and with a smug smile on her pretty face. The Queen blew them a kiss, 'Oh, that's gonna be a mind-blowing party', the last queen of France with her elegant gait proudly walked to her own execution, **_'She's a Killer Queen: Gunpowder, gelatine, Dynamite with a laser beam  
Guaranteed to blow your mind'_**.

Meanwhile, the Stranger, the Doctor and Rose were fleeing away from the palace along the dark corridors.

'We need to get to the TARDIS. Right now! It's safe there', shouted Rose but the Doctor objected immediately.

'We can't. I parked it right in the thick of it all now. We will simply be crushed by the raging crowd'

'We need to get to my boat!' the Stranger commanded.

'But it no longer works. How are you gonna pull it out?'

'Don't ask me how!'

***

The Doctor and Rose ran after the Stranger into the yard of the palace and rushed to a big round pond.   
The Stranger sent a signal with her Sonic, and the yellow submarine emerged to the surface.

'Inside, quick!'

As soon as everyone was aboard, the Time Lady slammed the hatch and went to the control panel.

'So what's next? You said it was just metal scrap'

'Just you watch'

The Stranger set her screwdriver to the panel and turned on the outside lighting.   
In the water of the unexpectedly and unbelievably deep pond, they could see a whole flock of... Salmons?

'Beautiful, aren't they?' said the Stranger admiringly, 'I bought a couple of them at the market in the constellation of Zœnda. And so they spawned a bit. They are pretty much the same as your earthling ones. Although they are bigger and stronger. I keep them here on a leash so that they don't scatter. ...So, off we go?'

The Stranger powered the engine. The boat shook, made a loud nasty snort but still started moving.

'So what', asked Rose, 'is this pond also bigger on the inside?'

'Haha, no, stupid'

'More like an underground water tunnel', the Doctor intervened, 'Wow, I didn't know that!' he added enthusiastically with the smile.

While they were escaping in the boat hurrying to the open water, the Casanova was confidently walking towards his death. He remained as the evidence of a successful revolution.   
The false queen of France went up to the scaffold, rustling with her bright red dress. But no matter how solid and arrogant he looked, he was very scared. Just a couple more minutes — and only the Stranger remains from him.

***

By this time the yellow submarine got to the surface in the English Channel. But the engine died down treacherously and the vessel got stuck in the middle of the water with the fish attached to it.

'We certainly are not going very far', said Rose.

'Well then, let's move on to the backup plan', the Stranger ignited with an idea.

She climbed out of the cabin onto the roof of the boat and sat on its very prow, picking up the salmon leash like reins.

'Don't you say that...'

'Yeah'

'So you gonna?..'

'That's absolutely right', the girl slyly glanced at the Doctor and yanked the reins.

The boat began to gain speed rapidly with the power of the salmons.

'So where are we heading to now?'

'Liverpool', the Stranger explained, 'There is one secluded special place where this junk will peacefully wait till I find it there two centuries later. In this exact state. She will also help us defeat the Liverpool beetles.

Rose enthusiastically was watching this.

'Well then! And it is working!'

'Yup. But don't ask me how'

***

Casanova didn't even look at the crowd or at the executioner. He had a more important matter.

> _"I am now talking to you. To myself, basically. I know that even when I die this speech will still remain in your memory. I am now to be executed, deprived of my life. But I'm not scared, neither shouldn't you be. You've always hated regenerating. You think it's a burden to die more than once. But here is what I'm telling you: every time you regenerate, you pass away only once. The next time it does someone else, take my word – you won't feel and won't remember it yourself. Consider it as if you and I were absolutely different people just serving for one idea. The idea of the Stranger. The thought that lets us in with our own habits, appearances, personalities. So every time you personally have to die anyway when your rent time is over. And it's a great honor to sacrifice your life for someone else to live. I'm happy now because I'm going away not to waste. I give it to you, my Stranger. So be magnificent and don't ask me how."_

This monologue sounded in his head and immediately appeared in the memories of the Stranger.

'Any last words?'

'Did you know that cockroaches can love up to two weeks without h...'

The swoosh of a guillotine blade. Marie Antoinette was dead. So was the Casanova.

***

A pile of bodies. All — the victims of the revolution. It was no longer clear who was an aristocrat and who turned out to have fallen under the knife accidentally. Against the face of death, everyone is equal. Or almost everyone.

One of the beheaded bodies suddenly lit up with thousands of golden sparks shining brighter than the sun itself.   
Big and endlessly cosmic eyes opened wide glancing eagerly at the world.

'Head! I'm back with my head again!' pale little hands were touching hair and the new face, 'Wow, and everything around is so... Big! Well, yes, I've lost about 30 cm of height, no less.

Bare feet took a step and another... And slipped. And everything, they were holding, fell on the ground.

The eyes could see horror, blood, destruction and piles of dead bodies. They could but didn't see this all. Instead, they saw the sky, birds and the sun. The feet felt soft cold grass.   
The new flesh was eagerly absorbing the sensations that pierced it with new vigour.   
The red shirt, earlier so fitting was now so huge and tended to slip from the shoulders of the new body.

The new eyes noticed a blue police box aside.

'Oh, hello there!' the new voice sounded.

***

The yellow submarine approached the shore and was buried in a secluded place.   
The Stanger untied her fish:

'You have gloriously served your queen, salmons. Now it's time to enter the big world, to become strong and independent'

She coddled with them, as if with children, for a couple of minutes and then released them.

'I hope some say each of them will have ones own golden salmon tank', the girl sobbed as her babies glistening with their silver backs were rushing off into the sea.

'Wait, but the TARDIS is still in France', Rose looked at the Time Lords. There was silence.

'Oops, awkward...' the Stranger giggled nervously and shrugged, 'Well, have no choice but to settle here for the first time at least. Doctor, you'll go to work at mines, Rose will become a washerwoman and me... I will be running for the queen. It has already worked once'

'Wait, that's ridiculous. No one will work anywhere', the Doctor interrupted her strictly, 'What were you thinking of?? Now we will rest a bit and ride back on you'

Rise burst out laughing but the Stranger still gave a couple of cautious glances.

***

They were sitting on the peer and looking at the calm water and the sun, which was slowly getting down to the horizon. The Stranger was slapping her shoeless feet in cold water. She was absent-minded and didn't even blink. Suddenly, she started muttering:

"I remember once, in a past life... When I was a man, you know. I was running along the streets of Venice. Another second — and I would have died from a stray bullet. But then she appeared. The most remarkable woman of all those many that I happened to know. She was... Incredible. She was worth sacrificing one's life for her. ...In fact, that's exactly what I did"

Everything plunged into silence again. But not for long. They heard a familiar sound somewhere from behind.

'TARDIS?' exclaimed the Doctor.

The police box appeared behind them. The door creaked and the Stranger came out. In an unusually large red shirt and with long hair.

'I know that hijacking a TARDIS is illegal. But I couldn't help it', she said.

'So, how does it feel?' the other Stranger asked her.

'Ugh, everything sucks. I was hoping to avoid somehow these your lisps. ...And I thought this hairstyle was your original form.

'Hah, not ever! You still have to try really hard to achieve this perfection. Oh, wait...' suddenly the girl rushed to the Doctor's TARDIS having remembered of something. She came back bringing from the dressing room a set of her clothes. A white shirt, black trousers and a coat, 'Take this. Now all of it will come in handy'

The Doctor was staring blankly at the TARDIS and at the Strangers.

'So you mean your clothes were kept in my dressing room all this time?'

'And why are you that familiar with someone else's TARDIS?' picked up Rose.

'Too many questions. I'd better ignore them', replied the Stranger shrugging her shoulders.

***

'Shall I give you a lift then?'

'Nah, don't think so', the girl straightened her red shirt inherited from the recent incarnation, 'Two Strangers in your TARDIS at once — not a very good idea.'

'Well, how are you going to leave then?'

'Don't ask me how', she winked at Rose.

The Doctor was still thinking about the revolution. He couldn't take it why the historic events have gone so wrong. Rose assured him that sooner or later they will definitely find the answer. The blue box disappeared, taking the Doctor, Rose and the Strangers to 2019 — her favourite time.

And the brand new Time Lady was walking aimlessly along the streets of the port town. Of course, she wasn't going to sit there and wait for John Lennon. She had a lot of hope in her heart, many plans in her mind and a vortex-manipulator in her pocket. But first...

Suddenly, big old scissors fell out of the pocket of the coat. The girl stopped, picked up the object and started examining it with incomprehension and curiosity. A smile appeared on her face.   
The Stranger, holding the scissors in her hand, ran to the first reflecting surface that she came across.

'So, what is that way she's wearing it?..'having forgotten everything, he girl cut off the first lock.


End file.
